Archive for October, 2009
ABC, Brian F. O’Byrne, Christine Woods, Courtney B. Vance, David S. Goyer, Dominic Monaghan, FlashForward, Jack Davenport, John Cho, Joseph Fiennes, Peyton List, Sonya Walger, Zachary Knighton
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 28, 2009 at 11:33 pm
The truth never sets anyone free, it just shackles them to a nightmare
Following the premise, “What if it happened before?” Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) enlisted fellow FBI Agent Al Gough (Lee Thompson Young) to contact a hacker to get CIA satellite imagery on Somalia from December 1990 – and they got just what they needed: photos showing several tall pylons in the middle of nowhere in Somalia. However, before they can run down this lead, the team is called to Washington, D.C. to answer to a Senate Intelligence Committee who is vetting each intelligence branch to determine which one should run point on the black-out investigation. It wants to consolidate money and data under one government branch. Thus, the FBI has to justify its Mosaic investigation or they could lose their funding.
With an admonishment from Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), “Just keep your mouth shut. If you tell anyone else about this, we are DOA,” Benford must hide what he saw in his flashforward vision about his drinking. For once anyone hears that he was impaired at the time, it casts doubt on the credibility of the FBI’s entire investigation. But, at the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, everyone subjected is to lie detector testing because the “CIA believes this was a targeted event designed to bring about the collapse of our government.” Despite passing the lie detector test, Mark is asked to testify before the committee and, while subject to cross-examination before the committee, he revealed that he was investigating crow attrition (the mass death of crows) as a sign that the black-out was not an isolated incident and may have happened before. He was also forced to reveal that he saw masked gunmen coming to kill him in his vision, which he felt validated the Mosaic investigation as it must have yielded fruit or why would anyone want to kill him. But when asked, “Why is everything in your recollection so hazy and disjointed?” Mark could not give an adequate answer as to why he could not remember more than 30 seconds or so, when everyone else could remember in startling clarity every moment of their 2 minute and 17 second visions. He only continued to state that the Mosaic investigation is a way to construct a picture of what the world will look like in 6 months and it has proven more reliable than theories that the black-out was due to the work of aliens, pharmaceutical companies, or China.
Unbeknownst to Mark, Senator Joyce Clemente (Barbara Williams) had a personal ax to grind. As she reminded Wedeck, if only she could prove what he did 6 years ago, she would be the President of the United States. But then she cryptically said, “If you sit by the river long enough, you’ll see the bodies of your enemies float by,” and shared that in her flashforward vision, she saw herself as President. It was chilling as she said, “As impossible as that may be, it’s a nice thought, isn’t it?” But it was also prophetic.
Continue reading article at:
http://scifitvzone.com/2009/11/08/flashforward-gimme-some-truth/
Agam Darshi, Amanda Tapping, Christine Chatelain, Christopher Heyerdahl, Emile Ullerup, Jonathan Young, Robin Dunne, Ryan Robbins, Sanctuary, Syfy
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on October 28, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Hoping when all hope is gone and praying for one last miracle – for it is only when we stop hoping and praying that someone is truly gone
In the aftermath of the devastating attacks on the Sanctuaries around the globe, in “Eulogy” the team set about rebuilding, cleaning-up and redistributing the abnormals to more secure facilities, while grieving the deaths of Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) and Clara (Christine Chatelain).
On the lighthearted-side, Will (Robin Dunne) and Henry (Ryan Robbins) were tasked with transportation and assimilation of 20 containers worth of displaced abnormals seeking refuge after the attacks on the Beijing, Tokyo and London sanctuaries. With the aid of Ark-Fong Li (Hiro Kanagawa), they set about filling every available nook and cranny at the main facility. They also debated the necessity of keeping the EM shields at maximum capacity, but Helen had insisted that it stay at maximum while the Cabal threat is still out there. The threat had not been eliminated yet.
Still on the sideline was Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi) who was not certain how to contribute and who was trying to make up her mind as to whether she was going to stay or go. Without a clear invitation, she was in limbo, and as she astutely assessed, “things are just too weird right now.” But without anywhere else to go and with the temptation of the new arriving abnormals too great a lure to pass up, Kate decided to hang-out – and got herself in a bit of a predicament in the process. While trying to steal some Steno tusks, she discovered a newly born Steno baby, which provided a merry chase before being recaptured. This provided some much need levity in a serious episode about the meaning of death. For it was pretty funny how the Steno baby steadfastly pursued Kate, not to eat her, but to play with her. As Henry explained, “You’re the first thing it saw. It thinks you’re its mother.” Watching Kate bond with the Steno baby was adorable and unexpected.
Then in the background, Helen (Amanda Tapping), secluded in her grief, was not only having visions of Ashley, she was also experiencing flashbacks. Between the visions and flashbacks, Helen felt certain that Ashley was not yet gone. She felt that it was possible that Ashley had been transported out of the Sanctuary just as the EM shields came up during the fight. But even as all investigations proved futile, Helen continued to cling to her persistent belief that Ashley had somehow survived. For, if Ashley had not actually made it through the shield, then perhaps Ashley had been bounced-back to a point still within the Sanctuary. When a search revealed the skeleton of another hybrid embedded in the wall, Helen then latched onto the idea that Ashley was stuck inside the computer system. But as each theory was investigated and disposed of, Helen became more and more irrational in her desperate desire to believe that Ashley was still alive. However, relying on Will as her moral compass and with reality check visits from Bigfoot (Christopher Heyerdahl) and John (Christopher Heyerdahl), Helen was finally forced to admit that Ashley was gone. Will had gently reminded her, “Are you searching for closure or a miracle?” Ashley could not have survived. She was not outside of the shield. She was not within the Sanctuary nor even trapped in the computer system. It was time to face the inevitable that Ashley was dead. So standing before an empty coffin, they each put an item of remembrance inside as Helen saw one last vision of Ashley who softly told her, “we must let go. . . ” It was haunting and heart-breaking to see to what lengths a mother will go to hold on to her lost child. Without a body to weep over, Helen simply wanted to believe that the impossible was still possible and that some essence of Ashley must still exist. It was like she was holding a butterfly net trying to capture a soul.
Continue reading article at:
http://rabiddoll.com/node/983
Heroes, Jeff Jensen, Joss Whedon, NBC, Sylar
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on October 27, 2009 at 4:49 pm
TV Watchtower: Is ‘Heroes’ Dead?
A once lauded show may be at death’s door – is it too late to save it?
Attending a recent screening of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” I heard Joss Whedon voice a very controversial pronouncement: “No one can save ‘Heroes!’”
Though, in his defense, he was provoked into such a response only after first being asked if “Dollhouse” is canceled, would he consider writing for “Heroes.”
While Joss may have meant to be flippant, those harsh words have been echoing in my brain. After all, who is he to say such a thing? Joss may be right, but it still seems a dire condemnation of a show that is still on the air and which is seemingly strongly supported by its network. Like any drama, it has highs and lows creatively and, like similarly ratings-challenged genre shows, it struggles to secure and retain a portion of the television viewing audience.
Feeling like the gauntlet had been thrown down, I took up the challenge and watched all of the episodes this season to see if in fact the show is beyond saving. Imagine my surprise then when I found that the show still had all the elements that drew me to it from the beginning. It still felt creative and interesting, and I felt intrigued watching the seven episodes to date.
This caused me to ponder a bit more if I could see what everyone else was talking about. A simple Google search brought up the story, “’Heroes’: Five Ways to Fix a Series in Crisis” that was written by Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly about a year ago. Although it’s a year old, some of the issues the column raised still felt timely: (1) too many heroes, (2) absurd plot twists, (3) over-heightened reality, (4) stale storytelling, and (5) “Heroes” was too disposable.
Looking back, I am not sure I agree. After all, “Heroes” not only survived its third season, it is now well into its fourth season. Surely, it must have found its footing somewhere in this past year to have made it this far. But, to be fair, due consideration should be given to each issue raised.
Are there too many heroes? Looking back over the past four seasons, we met more than 45 heroes, only 12 of which have been regulars and another 10 were significant enough to readily recall as well.
The regulars included: Claire (the cheerleader who can regenerate), Noah (Claire’s father), Hiro (time-traveler and teleporter), Ando (Hiro’s trusty sidekick with the power of amplification), Matt (the mind-reading cop), Peter (the empath), Nathan (the flying man), Angela (the precognitive dreamer), Tracy/Niki (the stripper with super strength/the lobbyist with freezing capabilities), Mohinder (the scientist who turned himself into a bug-like creature with super strength) and Sylar (the watchmaker who figured out how to steal other’s abilities).
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6816
FOX, Kelli Williams, Lie to Me
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on October 27, 2009 at 2:32 am
Reaching back to the 1980’s, a young fledgling starlet was cast as the younger version of Linda Hamilton in the cult classic “Beauty and the Beast.” It was an innocuous start to what would become a sky-rocketing career. For being cast as the younger version of a sci-fi icon is never a bad way to get a foothold in the notoriously difficult television landscape — and so began the illustrious television career of Kelli Williams.
During the next 5 years, Kelli would pinball between various television guest appearances on such shows as “Quantum Leap,” “The Young Riders,” and “Earth 2.” She also had the chance to work with Meredith Baxter, playing the daughter of the infamous Betty Broderick in the television events, “A Woman Scored: The Betty Broderick Story” and “Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter.” Perhaps learning a trick or two from Meredith (who won an Emmy for her searing performance), Kelli continued her quest for the role that would showcase her talents.
Then in 1996, Kelli appeared in a controversial episode of the Emmy-award winning series, “Picket Fences.” This may be where David E. Kelly first discovered the fearless yet vulnerable actress; for less than a year later, he cast her as a female lead in his new legal series, “The Practice.” During the subsequent six seasons and 145 episodes, Kelli received many accolades for her riveting, pitch-perfect performance playing defense attorney, Lindsay Dole. In that role, she was the voice of humanity with ram-rod convictions which resonated with the television audience.
Continue reading article at:
http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/10/26/spotlight-on-kelli-williams/
ABC, FlashForward, Sonya Walger
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on October 21, 2009 at 11:07 pm
As one of the break-out stars of the new hot ABC series “FlashForward,” Sonya Walger has been gaining notoriety for the last couple of years playing Penelope Widmore on “Lost.”
But before her attention-grabbing success on “Lost” and “FlashForward,” Sonya was a steadily working television performer. After doing short stints on such shows as “Heat of the Sun,” “Misdomer Murders,” “The Vice” and “Goodnight Sweetheart” in 1998 and 1999, Sonya scored a big break being cast as Donna Barnes in the series “The Mind of the Married Man.” Unfortunately, that role lasted only one season and she was back to steadily working in both film and television roles; the most noteworthy was being cast as Nicole Noone in made-for-television movie, “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear.”
But 2004 was a really good year for Sonya. That was the year she gained traction and momentum in her career and, in between 2004 through 2006, she appeared in ten episodes of “CSI: New York” as Jane Parsons and five episodes of the series “Sleeper Cell” as Special Agent Patrice Sexner, which was quickly followed with a ten episode stint in 2007 on the ground-breaking series “Tell Me You Love Me.” But it was in 2006 in which lightening struck when she was cast as Desmond’s star-crossed lover, Penny, in the ABC phenom “Lost.” It was only 11 electrifying episodes, but with the line “not Penny’s boat” scribbled across Charlie’s hand as he sacrificed himself to convey that dire message to the rest of the castaways, Penny suddenly became a lightening rod for fans to latch onto. Unlike any other romantic pairing on the series, Penny and Desmond were always portrayed as destined to be together and the writers were generous enough to play up their epic romance.
Continue reading article at:
http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/10/22/spotlight-on-sonya-walger/
FOX, Fringe, J.J. Abrams, Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole, Kirk Acevedo
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 21, 2009 at 10:48 pm
After the momentous revelation that William Bell had been hiding in an alternate universe – the same universe that Walter had kidnapped Peter from after his son died — the first season of “Fringe” seemed like it would be a hard act to follow. But as the second season has already shown, “Fringe” has a few more surprises up its sleeve.
Starting off with a bang, we were immediately thrown amidst a head-on car crash. Car accidents are routine, but not when one of the drivers disappears into thin-air. Thus, in the second season opener, “A New Day in an Old Town,” the sole survivor of the accident was a man who soon revealed himself to be anything but a man. He was a shape-shifter – and clearly not from our universe. It was his mission to kill Olivia. Olivia, in the meantime, had been yanked out of our universe and into the alternate universe for a meeting with the mysterious William Bell. It was because the auto accident failed to stop that meeting from occurring that Olivia had a bulls-eye on her back. For whatever William Bell had told her was worth killing for. However, Olivia’s return to our universe was not gentle and she was thrown through the windshield of her car and sustained a nasty head injury. This left her unable to remember the vital information that William Bell had shared with her. Because Olivia was in a coma, Peter stepped forward to take command and was instrumental in getting the Fringe Division reinstated. It was touch and go for most of the episode, but in the end, Olivia miraculously awoke and Peter saved the Fringe Division from bureaucratic extinction. And Walter made Peter a custard cake for his birthday.
Continue reading article at:
http://scifitvzone.com/2009/10/22/fringe-recap/
Dichen Lachman, Dollhouse, Eliza Dushku, Enver Gjokaj, FOX, Fran Kranz, Harry Lennix, Joss Whedon, Olivia Williams, Tahmoh Penikett
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 21, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Last season ended with Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) discovering the Dollhouse and inadvertently unleashing Alpha (Alan Tudyk) upon it. Alpha then promptly kidnapped Echo (Eliza Dushku) and downloaded over 30 different personalities into her all at once. But to his dismay, Echo did not feel enlightened or freed by this process. Her reaction was quite the opposite and Alpha then saw that he had created a monster which he could not control and which turned on him. He escaped, barely, and Echo was returned to the Dollhouse. Ballard then traded his freedom for Mellie’s (Miracle Laurie) and agreed to become Echo’s handler while Boyd (Harry Lennix) took over as head of security.
As we re-entered the realm of the Dollhouse in the second season, it was several months later with Paul Ballard now employed as Echo’s handler, with she and Ballard working together to bring down the Dollhouse from the inside. However, unlike previous memory wipes, Echo is no longer unaware of what has happened to her. Due to her super-enhanced multi-identity state, the average memory-wipe does not completely erase the imprinted identity. Thus, each imprint remains with Echo and she remembers everything after her assignments. This is the price Echo must pay for, if she revealed the ineffectiveness of the wipes, she would have not have any identity at all, nor could she assist Ballard in taking down the Dollhouse.
In the second season opener, “Vows,” Ballard was the client and he had retained Echo’s services in order to infiltrate the world of a British arm’s dealer. Echo has been programmed to be an FBI agent who is under-cover as the arms dealer’s fiancé. It was a con within a con. So with Ballard and Echo occupied with their mission to bring down another nefarious organization, the core of the episode actually focused on Dr. Saunders aka: Whiskey (Amy Acker) as she had learned that she was not in fact Dr. Saunders, but was instead a doll. Wanting to punish Topher (Fran Kranz) for imprinting her in the first place, she asked him to explain why he programmed her to hate him and he stated that he hadn’t. That was something she came up with all on her own. He had not merely programmed her to be a “yes” man, but had given her the ability to have free-will. She was free to chose how she felt. In the end, confused as to who she was and her role, Dr. Saunders exercised that free will and finally left the Dollhouse.
In the subsequent episode, “Instinct,” Echo is imprinted with the personality of a recently deceased mother in order to care for the newborn child whose father cannot stand the sight of him. However, when Echo overheard the father saying that he cannot keep up the ruse anymore and that he wanted to get rid of the baby, she kidnapped the child in order to protect it. But, like before, a simple memory wipe was not enough to erase her memories and feeling an overpowering need to protect the child, she went to confront the father. It is only after the father reasoned with her that Echo began to see the difference between her multi-faceted personalities and the imprinted one and was willing to leave the baby with his father. After having her emotions manipulated into loving a child that was not hers, more than ever, Echo swears to make the Dollhouse pay for making her love a child and then being forced to give it up.
Then in the third episode, “Belle Chose,” a serial killer’s personality is downloaded into Victor’s (Enver Gjokaj) body in order to ascertain the location of the woman the killer had taken. After the killer’s uncle released him in Victor’s body back out into society, DeWitt (Olivia Williams) and Topher elected to turn off the Dollhouse system in order to remote-wipe the serial killer’s personality out of Victor. This worked partially, for instead of wiping the killer’s personality, it merely transferred it into Echo’s body – who was in the middle of a teacher/student sex fantasy. Echo, as the killer, promptly stabbed the professor, escaped and returned to his lair where there were three women locked in a cage. Victor (now thinking he is a girl) went dancing at a nearby club and hilarious hi-jinks ensued from that particular identity crisis. In the meantime, Echo grappled with the imprint of the serial killer and urged the women to kill her in order to escape. Fortunately, the GPS-tracking chip led Boyd and the security detail to them and everyone was saved. But are they really? For Echo again still showed trace signs of still having the serial killer embedded into her conscious. It remains to be seen whether she will be strong enough to keep that imprint at bay.
Finally, in the fourth episode “Belonging” the series exploded. They had promised that everything would come together and grab everyone’s attention – and they were absolutely right. Focusing on Sierra and her backstory on how she was kidnapped, drugged and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her captor – all under the permissive watch of the Dollhouse was eye-opening, sickening and riveting. It also ratcheted up the level of tension and moral dilemmas they all face. It was Sierra’s story, and how they all became swept up in it. Victor as the quiet champion awaiting the return of his princess. Boyd the fixer who stepped in to clean-up Topher’s mess. Adelle’s heart-broke handing over Sierra to a monster. And Topher who never had a heart before, discovered he had one. Interestingly enough, even with Echo out of the lime-light, she caught Boyd’s attention and there was some cool interplay with Boyd catching her reading a book (Dolls are not supposed to be able to read) and his attempt to ferret out what she was up to. And in an episode where Paul Ballard did not even appear once, it was startling to see how the other characters came together just fine in his absence.
The second season is not merely a journey through the various fantasies that wealthy clients are willing to pay for. It is a discovery of self-identity as Echo fights to figure out who she is amidst all the downloaded personality imprints. It is also a mission to bring down those behind the Dollhouse and to put a stop to the human enslavement they have created.
“Dollhouse” is created and produced by Joss Whedon and stars Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett, Olivia Williams, Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj, Harry Lennix, and Fran Kranz. “Dollhouse” airs on Friday nights at 9:00 p.m. on Fox.
Agam Darshi, Amanda Tapping, Christine Chatelain, Christopher Heyerdahl, Emile Ullerup, Jonathan Young, Robin Dunne, Ryan Robbins, Sanctuary, Syfy
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on October 21, 2009 at 9:20 pm
When in a standoff with your enemy do you allow yourself the luxury of scorched-earth tactics?
After walking into a trap at the Cabal headquarters, and losing Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) in the process in Part 1, this week’s episode was a constant adrenaline rush of fear, uncertainty and nail-biting conflict.
Perhaps wishing to toy with her prey, in a mock-gesture of mercy, Dana Whitcomb (Lynda Boyd) gave Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) a choice: “your daughter or your work – you choose . . .” Helen must either surrender the entire Sanctuary Global Network or sacrifice her daughter. But not willing to bow before such a common terrorist ploy, Helen declared that she will not surrender every abnormal under their protection. For her father created the Sanctuary network to protect abnormals and humans from each other out of fear that if he did not, chaos would reign – which is exactly what Dana Whitcomb wants.
In the wake of an outright declaration of war and the ease with which the Tokyo sanctuary was taken, Helen rallied the team in order to prepare for battle. Rounding out the team were Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), Clara Griffin (Christine Chatelain), Nikolas Tesla (Jonathan Young), John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl), Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins), and Bigfoot (also Christopher Heyerdahl). The only one not joining in the fight was Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi) who they feared had set them up and she was released so that she could get away before the fight began. For there would be no compromise and they would fight to the bitter end. It was a fight to the death.
After learning that the Cabal were using some kind of remote data burst to interfere with and breach the EM shields; and the hybrids had the ability to communicate telepathically and quickly regenerate (bullets seemed to bounce off of them and wounds healed within seconds — which John figured out after stabbing Ashley straight through the heart to no avail), Helen gave Tesla the task of creating a weapon to combat the seemingly invincible hybrids. After Ashley had been captured, she had been converted into a hybrid human-abnormal. Due to her lineage having a human mother and a teleporting father who is akin to “Jack the Ripper,” she is arguably already a hybrid – and that unique DNA made her a perfect test subject for the source-blood. John noted that Ashley may have inherited her father’s blood-lust as one of her gifts and pronounced, “what is bred in the bone cannot be undone in the flesh.” Therefore, Helen wanted a weapon that will interfere with the effects and influence of the source-blood; something to disable the genetically-enhanced abilities. Unfortunately, with such a handicap that it must only disable and not kill, once created, the gun only stunned the hybrids for just a few moments. Helen was then forced to admit that the gun needed to be programmed to kill if they were to survive. This was even more clearly emphasized after the attack on the London Sanctuary and it had been necessary to release the Elemental, which ended up torching the entire facility — and after it was discovered that Clara had died so needlessly. As Tesla sadly noted, “Churchill may have been wrong. Victory at any cost?”
Continue reading article at:
http://rabiddoll.com/node/970
Stargate Universe, Syfy, Brad Wright, Richard Cooper, Stargate, Robert Carlyle, Ming-Na, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith, David Blue, Lou D. Phillips, Justin Louis
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 19, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Discovering the light in the darkness
This was an episode in which the gadgets nearly stole the show. The lights may have gone out due to power depletion, but it was highly entertaining to see the crew record their messages of hope, longing and despair in the Kino and Eli (David Blue) was never more adorable than when he handed his cellphone to Chloe (Elyse Levesque) to give her a bit of light in the darkness.
For all the cuteness, this was a dark episode – and not just because the lights went out. Watching the normally calm, cool and collected Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) have a panic-attack and pass out from fear and exhaustion set the tone. They were all at wits end. Without power, they were basically sitting in a coffin in space. Dr. Rush’s fear was not unfounded for all the fiddling everyone had done to figure out what each button and switch did had needlessly depleted their power reserves. His bellow, “Stop pushing buttons!” was not just out of frustration. They desperately needed every second of power they could eek out of the ship to survive.
So while Dr. Rush was incapacitated, it fell on Col. Young (Justin Louis) to figure a way out of their dire predicament. Thus, it was appalling that his first thought was to use the communication stones to go home and say good-bye to his estranged wife. But in the absence of both Rush and Young, the younger folk had more to do and they rose to the occasion: Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) continued to try to figure out a way to use the shuttle; T.J. (Alaina Huffman) kept a watchful eye on her recuperating invalids, both Col. Young (occupied by Col. Telford) and Dr. Rush; and Eli got to play the hero in the midst of the chaos.
Continue reading article at:
http://scifitvzone.com/2009/10/22/stargate-universe-darkness/
ABC, Brian F. O’Byrne, Christine Woods, Courtney B. Vance, David S. Goyer, Dominic Monaghan, FlashForward, Gabrielle Union, Gina Torres, Jack Davenport, John Cho, Joseph Fiennes, Peyton List, Sonya Walger, Zachary Knighton
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 19, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Lulled into a false sense of security
This episode was by far the most surprising to date. It lulled you into thinking this was the same thing we had begun to expect over the course of the last few episodes, and then out of the blue, it delivered a blow not seen coming. It was not even a death-blow. It was just a major shocker. The “black swan” was not Ned (Keir O’Donnell), the guy who thought he was going to turn into an African American; the “black swan” was Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport). I guess it is true when they say the best way to hide something is to hide it in plain sight. For I never once suspected that Lloyd had anything to do with the blackout. Thus, seeing the final scene of the episode where he takes the call from Simon (Dominic Monaghan) was a surprise. The hair on the back of my neck and arms rose as I heard Simon tell him, “Talking to me is one of those little inconveniences you’re going to have to put up with now that we’re responsible for the single greatest disaster in human history.”
As continuity goes, it was cool to see Alda Hertzog (Rachel Roberts) again — the blonde terrorist that Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and Demetri Noh (John Cho) had been chasing at the time of the blackout. She fooled them by cryptically telling Demetri that his time was running out and then sending them on a wild-goose chase. (Side-note: There’s a lot of bird references in this show with crows, black swans and now geese.) As riveting as the interrogation scenes were, it was rather mind-numbing to watch them actually go to Indio to the restaurant and chase a petty drug dealer. However, Alda, for all her resistance to answering their questions, was actually a fount of information. Alda was the one that ultimately gave us two significant clues. The first was about the “black swan” theory. She explained that a black swan is something so out of the ordinary that it is used to describe events beyond the realm of the ordinary. The second clue she provided was regarding the Sufi parable about an old man and a young boy with a candle and the old man asks the boy where the light comes from — and the young boy blows out the candle and tells the old man, “if you tell me where the light went, I will tell you where it came from.” The black-out and the reveal that Lloyd Simcoe was involved with it were the “black swan moments.” As for the significance of the Sufi parable, perhaps that was to illustrate that it does not matter how the black-out occurred and that they needed to focus on the why it happened. For Alda told Mark, “you’re ignoring the most profound question: why?” It is not “who” or “how” that really matter, but the question of “why.” Like with the boy and the candle, the disappearing light is not the point. The point is that it happened. Thus, accept it and address the more pertinent question.
Continue reading article at:
http://scifitvzone.com/2009/10/22/flashforward-black-swan/
Anna Torv, Blair Brown, FOX, Fringe, J.J. Abrams, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on October 18, 2009 at 4:08 am
The search for the ultimate high leads to the theft of dreams and the unleashing a living nightmare
Most people are not scared by their dreams. Only nightmares are frightening; and even then, we know that nightmares are not real. But this episode reminded us that for some, nightmares are all too real and they can scare you to death. Watching just the few patients highlighted, we saw the terror they experienced from a simple dream. For them sleep was not a sanctuary from their every day lives and troubles, their dreams were what they wanted to hide from. Thus, Dr. Nayak’s (Ravi Kapoor) bio-chip implanted into their brains was their salvation.
It was just a shame that one man’s salvation led to another man’s downfall. Dr. Nayak’s addiction to other people’s dreams was his undoing. Peter (Joshua Jackson) summarized it nicely with, “His addiction to dreams became his nightmare — one that he could not wake up from.” Dr. Nayak may have thought he was helping people, but by stealing their dreams and then playing those dreams back when they were awake led to horrific acts of violence. People are not meant to experience dreams awake as the conscious mind cannot handle it. It is truly extraordinary that the subconscious mind is better equipped to handle nightmares, but perhaps that is because the conscious mind is too busy dealing with reality to combat both reality and nightmares simultaneously.
So as Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter and Walter (John Noble) grappled with what was causing these people to lose touch with reality and react to a perceived threat, we also saw each of the team face their own nightmares. Olivia had gone to see Sam Weiss (Kevin Corrigan) as the death of Charlie (Kirk Acevedo) had caused her to doubt herself again. Peter was experiencing flashbacks to his childhood nightmares. And Walter was worried that Peter would finally figure out that his nightmares were actually memories.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6790
Stargate Universe, Syfy, Lou Diamond Phillips, SGU
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 17, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Starting his career innocuously in the mid-1980’s, working as nameless punks or thugs, Lou Diamond Phillips got a break in 1987 on “Miami Vice” and that same year lightening struck with a break-out role as Ritchie Valens in the film “La Bamba.” He quickly followed up that astounding and critically-acclaimed performance with an even more eye-opening performance as Angel Guzman in the film “Stand and Deliver” along side Edward James Olmos. (Side-note: It is fascinating to see that both Lou Diamond Phillips and Edward James Olmos ended up in two pivotal sci-fi television series nearly 20 years later — Edward James Olmos having portrayed Admiral Adama on the Syfy series “Battlestar Galactica” and Lou Diamond Phillips now appears in Syfy’s “Stargate Universe.”)
Riding the wave of instant popularity and box-office success, Lou continued his streak by appearing in the films “Young Guns” and “Young Guns II,” thereby solidifying his role as a young Hollywood heart-throb. Then through the 1990’s, he tackled a wide-array of roles ranging from playing an outcast in “Sioux City” beside Salli Richardson-Whitfield (“Eureka”), a tortured military soldier in “Courage Under Fire” with Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan, and a medical officer in the sci-fi film “Supernova” with James Spader and Robin Tunney. Perhaps tiring of the grueling pace of feature film, Lou agreed to tackle a television series and headlined the gothic-horror “Wolf Lake.” Alas, audiences did not take to the idea of having werewolves living amongst us in modern society and that series ended after only ten episodes.
Not one to rest on his laurels or kick-back, Lou threw himself into an even more ambitious work schedule tackling no less than 8 feature films and 20 television roles in the span of 7 years. Most notably, he appeared in the second season of “24” (along side his “Young Guns” co-star Kiefer Sutherland) and then did a quick stop-by in the critic’s favorite “Jack & Bobby” to make an appearance as Jack’s father which inspired him to one day become the U.S. public defender. He also appeared in the television mini-series “The Triangle” with Eric Stoltz (who stars in the upcoming sci-fi series “Caprica”) as the sole survivor of a Triangle-event which left him trapped in a different timeline.
Then in recent years, Lou has made regular guest appearances on the mathematical drama “Numb3rs” as Agent Ian Edgerton and also made a brief appearance earlier this year in “The Beast” (the Patrick Swayze undercover FBI drama).
With such a varied and extensive career under his belt, it is a wonder that Lou has had any time to sleep in the past two decades. But, being driven and ambitious, he quickly latched onto a new break-out sci-fi series “Stargate Universe” in the ambiguous role of Col. David Telford. His casting on the show was no less surprising than some of his co-stars as “Stargate Universe” has tried to distinguish itself as the darker, edgier version of its predecessors. The casting of Lou Diamond Phillips is a testament to that vision as he is an actor who relishes the most challenging and diverse roles available. It will be intriguing to see where Lou goes both as his character, Col. David Telford in “Stargate Universe” and in his professional career.
Candice Accola, CW, Ian Somerhalder, Katerina Graham, Kayla Ewell, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Steven R. McQueen, Vampire Diaries, Zach Roerig
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on October 17, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Be careful what you wish for
Not wasting one second of this lush and bursting at the seams episode, the show opened just where it left off the week before, with Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) harsh demand, “What are you?” ringing in our ears.
Stefan (Paul Wesley) tried to delay the inevitable by obliquely saying, “You know — or you wouldn’t be here.” But Elena would not be deflected by such a flimsy response and Stefan was forced to elaborate and, with a hint of anguish in his voice, he explained, “Everything you know and every belief that you have is about to change. Are you ready for that?” and with one final look at her determined face, he finally quietly said, “I’m a vampire.” With that final admission, Elena’s world tilted irrevocably forever. Just like with the death of her parents just a few months before, life had thrown a curveball that she never saw coming. But acquiescing to Stefan’s urgent plea “to just give me one day” so that he could explain and answer her questions, we finally got to see a few pivotal pieces from the Stefan, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Katherine saga.
With Stefan occupied trying to diminish the horror of the new world Elena had just discovered, Damon was recuperating from his traumatic near-death experience. After he had fed on all the Townies he could get his hands on, he tried to cover his tracks by burning the bodies. Thus, imagine his surprise when he found Vicki (Kayla Ewell) still alive. Feeling compassion or some other unfathomable emotion, he decided to rescue her and took her back to the Salvatore home. But, without his protective ring, he was unable to stand sunlight and was confined to the house with her. With an exasperated side-comment “oh, don’t get blood on the couch, please!” remark, Damon finally capitulated and said, “I’m so going to regret this,” and fed Vicki some of his own blood – which quickly healed her wounds. Alas, that just revived Vicki into a hyper drug-high state and she bounced around the house with Vampire-infused energy. But like with any drug, whatever goes up, must come down. Within a few hours, Vicki was a blubbering mess of insecurity and self-pity and Damon finally driven to his breaking point, said, “I think I know what can help you – death!” and promptly snapped her neck. But even death could not conquer the powerful healing effects of the vampire-blood pumping throughout Vicki’s body. It just reawakened her yet again and unleashed Vicki on the unsuspecting town of Mystic Falls.
Continue reading article at:
http://rabiddoll.com/node/967
A&E, April Bowlby, Ben Feldman, Brooke D’Orsey, Brooke Elliott, Drop Dead Diva, Jackson Hurst, Josh Stamberg, Kate Levering, Lifetime, Margaret Cho
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on October 15, 2009 at 6:15 pm
True love, destiny and fate — all spark an age old debate
Ending the first season on a spectacularly high note, Drop Dead Diva’s finale dealt with no less weighty issues than: Are we destined to have one true love? Are our lives predetermined by destiny? Or is it all simply a matter of fate? These were the questions delicately and quite humorously addressed and, unfortunately, left hanging in this episode. For Deb (Brooke Elliott) had begun to wonder about her life as Jane and whether it meant that she must live the life old Jane carved-out, or if she can change her life and live as a new Jane.
Fresh off her inadvertent date with Grayson (Jackson Hurst) in the prior episode, after Tony (David Denman) had canceled at the last minute due to work and Kim (Kate Levering) had broken up with Grayson, we got a glimpse into Grayson’s inner thoughts as he awoke from a dream about nearly kissing Jane. The expression on his face clearly showed his confusion about the dream and what it meant.
But, in Jane’s world, things are going smoothly with Tony (David Denman) who thoughtfully brought Jane lunch at the office and invited her on a romantic getaway to Napa. Grayson could only watch in the background contemplating how he felt about Jane. Later Grayson inadvertently admitted to Stacy (April Bowlby) that he was having trouble sleeping because he had been dreaming about Jane. Predictably, Stacy told Jane about Grayson’s revealing disclosure and that put Jane in a quandary: does she continue to pursue the relationship with Tony or take the time to find out whether Grayson feels something for her?
Continue reading article at:
http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/10/15/drop-dead-diva-%e2%80%93-grayson%e2%80%99s-anatomy/
Angel, Battlestar Galactica, Being Human, BSG, Buffy, Chuck, Dollhouse, Eureka, Firefly, Fringe, Heroes, Kings, Lost, Primeval, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Supernatural, Torchwood, TSCC
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on October 13, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Recognizing the Face of Evil -
Looking back over the various sci-fi television shows I have watched over the years, I am intrigued by the idea that some of the characters wear masks – not literal masks, but instead facades behind which they hide their true nature. For not everyone is Darth Vader with such an obvious desire to hide who he is. Thus, such characters are a fascinating study in duplicity and to see whether the “masks” they wear are successful.
Double agents, sleepers, traitors, turn-coats, opportunists – these are but just a few of the names we have for those who wear a mask. They dance in the masquerade of life weaving their spells of illusion.
Some of the most treacherous moments in sci-fi television were only achieved through such careful and clever use of masks. Among those astounding, eye-popping moments were:
Double Agents –
Looking first at double agents, there are quite a few that standout in recent television history. Most recently, there was Ruby in “Supernatural,” who convinced Sam to unleash Satan from the pit of Hell. That little nasty demon certainly had a big comeuppance coming her way.
Another surprising reveal was finding out that Mr. Dominic from “Dollhouse” was the NSA’s inside-man who kept tabs on the nefarious dealings of the Dollhouse. After the first season, it appeared that Mr. Dominic’s days were over when banished to the Attic, but as viewers of “Epitaph One” have seen, he may yet be a player and still a man to be reckoned with, for beware the man who realizes he can be so casually tossed aside.
In probably one of the most tragic double-agent storylines, in “Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles” we saw the doomed-from-the-start Riley worm her way into John Connor’s life in order to try to sway his affections from Cameron who Jesse deemed to hold too much power over him and which may jeopardize the human race. That Riley was ultimately sacrificed by Jesse in order to implicate Cameron was the ultimate betrayal of the fragile double-agent by one of her own.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6773
Stargate Universe, Syfy, Robert Carlyle, Ming-Na, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith, David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Lou D. Phillips, Elyse Levesque.
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 13, 2009 at 12:32 am
Survival at no matter the cost
“Stargate Universe” is the second spin-off of the successful sci-fi series “Stargate SG-1” which ran for an astounding ten seasons. Unlike the original “Stargate SG-1” which was based on Earth, or “Stargate: Atlantis” which was based on a portable city on another planet, “Stargate Universe” is focused on a rag-tag group of survivors who find themselves trapped on an alien ship traveling on the outer fringe of the universe. Fearful of using the barely functioning Stargate aboard the ship as it may lead their attackers back to Earth, they must rely on each other to survive until they can find a way to safely return home.
“Stargate Universe” tackles the ambitious premise of trying to straddle both prior incarnations of the franchise, while establishing its own identity. In breadth alone it feels larger than its predecessors. The size of the cast is daunting as the viewer tries to figure out who is who and what role each plays in this micro-universe.
After watching all three parts of its pilot “Air,” a few faces have begun to stand-out. The most recognizable is Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) who is the scientific genius who everyone defers to simply because without him, they will all die. Next is the recently recruited video geek/guru Eli Wallace (David Blue), whose fantasies came true when they beamed him up onto their ship and invited him to be a consultant to crack an alien code. Then on the military-side, there is 1st Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) who seamlessly takes charge after the Icarus base attack. Following Scott, there is 1st Lt. Tamara Johansen (Alaina Huffman), a medical officer, who seems more concerned about her affair with her superior, Col. Everett Young (Justin Louis), than anything else. Last, but not least, there is the waif-like ingénue Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque) who was accompanying her high-ranking father, Senator Alan Armstrong (Christopher McDonald), at the time of the attack and she is literally caught in the cross-fire of military and scientific agendas as her father sacrificed himself to give them all a fighting chance at survival.
Continue reading article at:
http://scifitvzone.com/2009/10/13/stargate-universe-review-air/
Anna Torv, Blair Brown, FOX, Fringe, J.J. Abrams, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Kirk Acevedo, Lance Reddick
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on October 12, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Inter-dimensional travel is not all it is cracked up to be
Cryogenics looked awfully scary in this episode.
First, a truck-load of frozen heads is stolen in a shoot-out worthy of the OK Corral. Then we see a shape-shifter tossing them casually over his shoulder as he discards each as not the one he is looking for. And in the end, once the much sought after head is found, it is reattached to a new body like something out of Frankenstein — and before it is even fully reattached, its eyes opened. Creepy does not even adequately describe how this all appeared.
Besides the side-trip into cryogenic-hell, this episode was all about Faux Charlie (Kirk Acevedo). The shape-shifter’s time was running out as he was clearly going through mercury withdrawal and could not get his hands on enough of it to keep from dying. With the clock-ticking both by his decaying body and with Global Dynamics working round the clock to use a facial recognition program to identify his current features from the recovered shape-shifting device, Faux Charlie had to act quickly.
As for Olivia (Anna Torv), while Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter (John Noble) worked to re-enact the hallucinogenic experiment that previously allowed Rebecca (Theresa Russell) to recognize those from the other dimension, Olivia was finally able to remember her momentous meeting with the infamous Dr. William Bell (Leonard Nimoy
) — albeit only after Peter literally struck a bell and she collapsed to the floor. For science-fiction fans around the globe, this epic meeting was quite an event to see.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6769
ABC, Brian F. O’Byrne, Christine Woods, Courtney B. Vance, David S. Goyer, FlashForward, Gabrielle Union, Gina Torres, Jack Davenport, John Cho, Joseph Fiennes, Peyton List, Sonya Walger, Zachary Knighton
In SciFiTVZone, TV Watchtower on October 12, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Do the ends ever justify the means?
When ABC first debuted the new television series FlashForward three weeks ago, the world sat riveted in front of their TV sets. It was an adrenaline rush that left the audience breathless for more. Based on the book of the same name by Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer, the series version of FlashForward began with the calamitous events that occurred on a seemingly normal day when the entire planet came to a stand-still. For 2 minutes and 17 seconds, virtually every human-being blacked-out and fell to the ground. It was a world-wide disaster as airplanes fell out of the sky, cars collided, and a multitude of horrific events occurred because there was no one conscious. But FlashForward is not merely a disaster show. It is about what happened during those mysterious 2 minutes and 17 seconds, for everyone was not simply unconscious, they were given a glimpse of their future. They were able to see exactly where they would be in 6 months – what they were doing and who they were doing it with. The real story driving the series is whether each will see their vision of the future come true. For some, that is horrifying and for others, it is everything they’ve prayed and hoped for.
Initially, the central characters are an FBI agent, Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes), his partner, Demetri Noh (John Cho), his boss, Stan Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), and Mark’s wife, Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger, better known as Penny from Lost). They are the characters that we are first introduced to and whose flashbacks we experience. It is also Benford who first clued in that there may be a conspiracy afoot, as his flashback revealed to him that he was investigating the flashforward event in relation to something called the Mosaic Collective. For his partner, Demetri, he had a more alarming realization: he did not experience a flashforward vision, which led him to believe that he may not be alive in six months. Then for Benford’s wife, Olivia, her vision was perhaps the most disturbing of all as she saw herself having a romantic liaison with another man – a man she had not even met yet. For all of these individuals, their visions have not brought them peace and comfort in what lies ahead. To the contrary, they will do everything they can to prevent their visions from coming true.
Continue reading article at:
http://scifitvzone.com/2009/10/12/flashforward-137-sekunden/
Candice Accola, CW, Ian Somerhalder, Julie Plec, Katerina Graham, Kayla Ewell, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Steven R. McQueen, Vampire Diaries, Zach Roerig
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on October 12, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Facing Demons and Scary Truths
Damon (Ian Somerhalder) weak, dying and locked in the basement was perhaps even scarier than having him roaming loose in the world. With just a whisper, he was able to summon Caroline (Candice Accola) and she released the vengeful and hungry beast out of his cage. Every time we saw Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Zach (Chris Martin) peer through the bars of the window into Damon’s living hell, we knew that it was too good to be true. For as Damon demonstrated in his quicker than a blink of an eye movement, he was able to grab Zack’s neck and nearly coerced him into releasing him. It was a wake-up call that reminded us that Damon’s prison was but a momentary one. He was just too dangerous and clever to remain caged for very long. The tricks he had learned over the past century had clearly benefited him well.
Stefan was only deluding himself with the thought that Damon would stand for being judged, re-educated, mummified and then re-evaluated in another 50 years. Stefan told Damon, “You’re not stronger than the Vervain and we both know it.” But what Stefan did not anticipate was that Damon had a few parlor tricks still up his sleeve. Like a vampire does not have to subsist on human blood alone, Damon did not subsist on his strength alone. He had learned the art of human manipulation and that will go a lot further than brute strength.
So while Stefan was facing the hard truth about Damon and the demon inside of himself, we saw: Elena (Nina Dobrev) struggle with figuring out what Stefan was hiding; Bonnie (Katerina Graham) struggle with her new-found abilities; Caroline struggle with her memory loss and denial about the abuse she suffered; Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) struggle with Vicki’s (Kayla Ewell) addiction problems; Jenna’s (Sara Canning) struggle to forgive Logan (Chris Johnson) for his past betrayal; and Zach’s struggle to face Damon and the life he denied himself because of Damon’s reign of terror.
Continue reading article at:
http://rabiddoll.com/node/951
ABC, Eastwick, Sara Rue
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on October 8, 2009 at 4:31 pm
With a television career stemming back nearly 20 years, Sara Rue has been a television star since her early days on the comedy series “Grand,” playing Pamela Reed’s daughter. With one year of a television series under her belt at the age of 12, Sara Rue was well on her way towards a long comedic career; through her teens and early 20’s, she guest-starred in over 16 television series and movies. It was not until she landed on the WB series “Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane,” that someone must have taken notice of the vivacious red-head and that same year, she landed a major role in the Ryan Murphy series “Popular.”
On “Popular,” Sara was cast as Carmen, the bubbly outsider who just wanted to be a part of the in-crowd. This was a break-out role for her, along with many of her co-stars, Leslie Bibb (“Kings,” “Crossing Jordan”), Carly Pope (“Dirt,” “The Collector”), and Chris Gorham (“Ugly Betty,” “Harper’s Island”). Despite lasting only 2 seasons, “Popular” remains a fan-favorite and is frequently cited as one of the most relatable television portrayals of high school life.
Continue reading article at:
http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/10/14/spotlight-on-sara-rue/
Anna Torv, Blair Brown, FOX, Fringe, J.J. Abrams, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Kirk Acevedo, Lance Reddick
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on October 5, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Suitcase bombs are a thing of the past in an era of the human-body bomb
This article may contain spoilers.
In a deft turn of storytelling, this past episode involved more hardcore science than the creature-feature devices that have been the staple of late. “Fracture” illustrated how a synthetic nerve agent can turn the average person into the ultimate weapon.
Using cool sci-fi imagery, we saw first-hand how the human body can be turned into a diamond-hard crystalline substance that will shatter and explode when exposed to the correct VHS frequency. Watching this process and seeing the lethal aftermath, I was impressed with how destructive it was. It was just as devastating as a nail-bomb or even a C-4 explosive. Plus, the advantage of using chemically-activated human tissue is that it can pass right through security sensors and it does not require that the person know that they are being used as a human-bomb.
It was a delicately woven storyline about domestic terrorism, chemical weaponry, experimental military projects and exactly how unprepared we are to combat or effectively prevent these types of threats.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6756
Anna Torv, Blair Brown, FOX, Fringe, J.J. Abrams, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Kirk Acevedo, Lance Reddick
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on October 4, 2009 at 12:17 am
Playing God is not as easy as it looks
There is a saying, “be careful what you wish for.” This week’s adventure involved just that. A medical doctor was so desperate to have a son of his own flesh and blood that he impregnated his terminally ill wife and then manipulated the baby’s DNA so that it could be carried to term. It was sheer arrogance that led him to believe that he could play God and get away with it. Seventeen years later and he was still haunted by his audacity and conceit – he had created a creature worthy of the film “The Night of the Living Dead.”
So as the unsuspecting townsfolk disappeared one by one, he sat idly by placing traps around his house to protect himself. He did not bother to warn everyone else. Such egocentric thinking is appalling. He created the monster and yet he did nothing to warn them.
We were privy to the horror of it all watching the electrical worker gazing out across the rustling cornfields, glancing at the spooky all-knowing scarecrow and seeing a black crow warning him to leave. But curious as to what could possibly be out there, he went to investigate and suddenly vanished before our eyes as the earth reached up and swallowed him whole. But this is not the end, we next saw him in an underground tunnel and he screamed as he saw the monster leap from the shadows. What may have once been human is human no more. It is the stuff nightmares are made out of.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6749
Amanda Righetti, CBS, The Mentalist
In NiceGirlsTV, TV Watchtower on October 3, 2009 at 12:09 am
In her first big break on television, Amanda Righetti was introduced as Hailey Nichol, the black-sheep sister of Kirsten Cohen in “The O.C.” After a successful run of 12 episodes on “The O.C.”, Righetti was then immediately cast as Tessa Lewis, a manipulative con artist, in the Hawaiian romp “North Shore.” Alas, “North Shore” only ran for one season. But as luck was on Righetti’s side, she was quickly cast as Jena Moretti, the aging starlet, in the mystery series “Reunion.” While the role was more substantive than her earlier work, and better showcased Righetti’s talents, the fickle TV fans jumped ship once they realized how serialized the show was and the series lasted only 13 episodes (only 9 of which were actually broadcast).
So despite consistently working, Righetti seemed doomed to be cast on TV shows that could not make it past their first season. Taking a 2 year break to focus on her film career and working on such films as “Marlowe,” “Return to House on Haunted Hill,” and “Friday the 13th” (the remake), Righetti surfaced again in 2008, appearing in the unassuming role of Grace Van Pelt on a new TV series called “The Mentalist.”
On paper the series looked to be a generic version of just about every other police procedural on the television landscape. But, for anyone who saw the premier episode, “The Mentalist” was anything but a copycat procedural. Instead, it was an out-of-the-gate sensation, with over 15 million viewers and landing itself in the #10 spot as one of the most viewed TV shows that week. From that point on, the ratings increased and “The Mentalist” has stayed well-within the Top 10 each week ever since. It even reached the coveted #1 spot within just a few months of its debut.
Cast as the youngest and newest member of the fictional CBI unit (California Bureau of Investigation) in “The Mentalist,” Righetti’s fresh face and youthfulness stood-out amongst her more widely-recognized co-stars, Robin Tunney and Simon Baker, who each have been in the entertainment business nearly twice as long as Righetti. Portraying Grace Van Pelt, these attributes are perfectly-suited and they allow Righetti to meld the character to fit some of her stronger assets.
Continue reading article at:
http://nicegirlstv.com/2009/10/08/spotlight-on-amanda-righetti/
Candice Accola, CW, Ian Somerhalder, Julie Plec, Katerina Graham, Kayla Ewell, Kevin Williamson, L.J. Smith, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Sara Canning, Steven R. McQueen, Vampire Diaries, Zach Roerig
In Rabid Doll, TV Watchtower on October 2, 2009 at 10:55 pm
The ties that bind can be excruciatingly painful
Employing another classic horror story-telling device, this week’s episode opened with Stefan waking from a very real nightmare: watching Damon stalk and attack Elena as she was trapped in her house. He awoke to find that Damon implanted that nasty dream, which Stefan promptly repaid by throwing a knife into his chest. Damon merely removed the knife as if it were but a mild nuisance and then stabbed Stefan with it, who collapsed to his knees. All this macho posing proved was that Damon was impervious to pain and cannot be killed. He is clearly not threatened by mere mortal implements as they are no threat to him.
After this faux display of brotherly-love, Stefan tried to fathom why Damon even bothered to stay in Mystic Falls. Damon merely twitched his lips in an evil smile and said, “I decided to stay awhile. I’m having just too much fun here with you and Elena.” To which Stefan angrily threw back, “You can’t touch her now.” But Damon chillingly replied, “Well, the Vervain keeps me out of her head – maybe that’s not my target.”
Thus, the false hope instilled by the news that the mountain lion who had been attacking Mystic Falls’ residents had been caught is no where near the truth. For as Stefan noted, “The real animal is still out there – waiting for me – challenging me to fight back to stop him; and how do I stop a monster without becoming one myself?” Stefan knows he cannot stop Damon without feeding on human blood, because without it, he is not as strong as Damon and Damon knows it. That is Damon’s ultimate goal: to remind Stefan of the monster he really is; and that is what Stefan is battling against. He does not want to be a monster. He wants to be a man – a man that Elena will love.
Continue reading article at:
http://rabiddoll.com/node/935
Akiva Goldsman, Anna Torv, Blair Brown, FOX, Fringe, J.J. Abrams, Jasika Nicole, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Kirk Acevedo, Lance Reddick
In Airlock Alpha, TV Watchtower on October 2, 2009 at 10:47 pm
With shape-shifters and an alternate universe, we may have just entered the Twilight Zone
Starting off its second season with a literal bang, the opening scene felt very “Lost”-esque as the camera focused on a man bleeding who opened his eye to find he was in his car upside down having just survived a nasty car accident. As he extricated himself, he stood dazed staring into the smoke and blinking at the bright lights. Then his attention focused, and he seemed to realize he was in jeopardy and ran away. But, as we soon found out, he was not the hero of this story. In fact he was the villain and he had the ability to shape-shift – an ability he did not hesitate to use as necessary and it was fatal to those whose identities he wanted to steal.
The story then shifted and we saw Walter (John Noble) and Peter (Joshua Jackson) wandering the aisles of a supermarket searching for the ingredients to make a custard cake. Peter protested that he does not even like custard, but Walter insisted, “sure you do, you just don’t remember.” It is a nice way of alluding to the fact that Peter is not the same Peter that Walter remembers.
It also foreshadowed and reintroduced the discovery that Olivia (Anna Torv) made in the first season finale – there is an alternate dimension that is nearly duplicate to the reality we live in. That is where Peter is from. Walter had snatched the alternate-Peter to replace his son, Peter, who died in our reality.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6743
